What's on in Gibraltar, Gibraltar through the year

Quiet — school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Christmas and Three Kings (1 Dec – 6 Jan)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Spring raptor migration

  15 Feb – 31 May · usuallyWildlife season

  The northbound crossing is longer and thinner than the autumn one: black kites from late winter, then short-toed and booted eagles gaining height over the Rock before heading inland. Best on a light westerly. Source ↗

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Spring raptor migration (15 Feb – 31 May (usually))

Busy — Cruise calls, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Macaque birth season

  1 Apr – 15 Aug · usuallyBirdlife season

  The Barbary macaques on the Upper Rock have their young from spring into summer, and the troops are at their most defensive with them. Feeding them is illegal and fined, all year. Source ↗

• Season

  Cruise calls

  1 Apr – 31 Oct · usuallyCruise seasonCrowded

  Around two hundred and fifty ships a year berth on the western arm, and on a two-ship day Main Street and the cable car queue belong to them until the middle of the afternoon. The schedule is published months ahead. Source ↗

• Nature

  Dolphins in the bay

  1 Apr – 30 Sep · usuallyWhale season

  Three species work the bay year-round and the boats out of Marina Bay run several trips a day through the summer. Sailings thin out in winter and are called off outright on a hard Levanter. Source ↗

Still on: Spring raptor migration (15 Feb – 31 May (usually))

Busy — Cruise calls, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  The Levanter cloud

  1 May – 30 Sep · usuallyWind seasonRisk

  When the easterly blows, damp air piles against the Rock and a banner of cloud sits on the ridge for days. It ruins the view from the top and diverts flights to Malaga.

Still on: Spring raptor migration (15 Feb – 31 May (usually)), Macaque birth season (1 Apr – 15 Aug (usually)), Cruise calls (1 Apr – 31 Oct (usually)), Dolphins in the bay (1 Apr – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Cruise calls, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Calentita food festival

  15 Jun – 15 Jul · usuallyMajor festival

  Two nights in June when a car park in the ditch is given over to stalls cooking the local mixture of Genoese, Andalusian and Moroccan food that the territory is actually made of. Source ↗

Still on: Macaque birth season (1 Apr – 15 Aug (usually)), Cruise calls (1 Apr – 31 Oct (usually)), Dolphins in the bay (1 Apr – 30 Sep (usually)), The Levanter cloud (1 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Cruise calls, Summer border queues

• Season

  Summer border queues

  1 Jul – 5 SepSchool holidaysCrowded

  The land frontier with Spain can take up to two hours to cross by car in high summer and on Spanish holiday weekends. Parking on the La Linea side and walking across is what residents do. Source ↗

Still on: Macaque birth season (1 Apr – 15 Aug (usually)), Cruise calls (1 Apr – 31 Oct (usually)), Dolphins in the bay (1 Apr – 30 Sep (usually)), The Levanter cloud (1 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Calentita food festival (15 Jun – 15 Jul (usually))

Peak crowds — Cruise calls, Summer border queues

• Nature

  Raptor migration over the Strait

  20 Aug – 31 Oct · usuallyWildlife season

  Storks, honey buzzards and eagles funnel over the Strait in autumn to make the shortest crossing to Africa, and on a good easterly morning they pass low over the Upper Rock in thousands.

Still on: Macaque birth season (1 Apr – 15 Aug (usually)), Cruise calls (1 Apr – 31 Oct (usually)), Dolphins in the bay (1 Apr – 30 Sep (usually)), The Levanter cloud (1 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Summer border queues (1 Jul – 5 Sep)

Peak crowds — Cruise calls, Summer border queues

• Holiday

  Gibraltar National Day

  10 SepNational holidayCrowdedClosures

  On 10 September the whole territory dresses in red and white, thirty thousand balloons go up over Casemates and almost nothing is open. The best day of the year to see the place as itself. Source ↗

Still on: Cruise calls (1 Apr – 31 Oct (usually)), Dolphins in the bay (1 Apr – 30 Sep (usually)), The Levanter cloud (1 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Summer border queues (1 Jul – 5 Sep), Raptor migration over the Strait (20 Aug – 31 Oct (usually))

Busy — Cruise calls, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Cruise calls (1 Apr – 31 Oct (usually)), Raptor migration over the Strait (20 Aug – 31 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Festival

  Gibraltar Literary Festival

  8–18 Nov · usuallyMajor festivalBook early

  Five days of talks in the Garrison Library, the Convent and the hotels around Ocean Village, with novelists, historians and broadcasters flown in. The territory has few beds, so November fills unusually early for it. Source ↗

Quiet — school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Festival

  Christmas and Three Kings

  1 Dec – 6 JanChristmas & New YearClosures

  Main Street is lit for the month and the season runs on Spanish time: the Three Kings cavalcade on 5 January matters as much as Christmas Day, and the shops close for both. Source ↗